


Before It's Too Late...

by AllHallowsEve



Series: Wincest Colored Glasses [15]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Episode: s01e15 The Benders, Fear, Guilt, Longing, Love, M/M, Panic, Pining, Pre-Slash, Wincest - Freeform, self blame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 22:30:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14924090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllHallowsEve/pseuds/AllHallowsEve
Summary: The boys go on a routine case, not even sure if it is their kind of thing.  Unfortunately for them both, Sam gets kidnapped and they begin a horrible journey of stress and angst, trying desperately to survive long enough to get back to each other.Episode 15 as seen through Wincest colored glasses.





	Before It's Too Late...

**Author's Note:**

> This episode is dedicated to [snipermathlove29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snipermathlove29) for being the first person to ask me to do a specific episode, when I posted Episode 1 as a stand alone story, and had told everyone to let me know if they wanted me to try a different episode focusing on the Wincest point of view. This episode has been brought up by numerous people as the one they were looking most forward to, so I hope I have done it justice.
> 
> Next I have to give a shout out to [MsGer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsGer) for pointing out the glaringly hilarious mistake from the last episode, as well as doing so in a previous episode too. Since these are unbeta'd your help has been a tremendous relief to me and I cannot thank you enough for all the support and wonderful comments you give me all the time!!!
> 
> This episode, as always, is unbeta'd so please feel free to point and laugh, and then message me about any mistakes it might contain so I can fix it to make it more enjoyable for everyone :)
> 
> Without further ado, here it is ladies and gentlemen, The Benders...

Dean didn’t really want to stick around the biker bar playing darts all night, any more than Sam did, but he was still feeling on edge about being alone with Sam.  He had barely been able to keep his dick under control that morning when Sam put on the State Trooper uniform, to interview the kid, who had supposedly seen a missing guy get abducted by a monster.  If Sam’s abilities were going to branch out into mind reading, it was better to stay in busy crowded places like bars as much as possible.   At least that is what Dean’s fearful mind told him.

But he could tell Sam was dead on his feet.  Sam hadn’t been sleeping well, so Dean acquiesced to his plea that they head back to the motel, Sam had seen about five miles back, and turn in.  Dean told Sam to meet him outside because Dean had to relieve his bladder of all the beers he had taken in.  He thought that he might take a moment to relieve some other tension too, while he was at it, since going back to the motel and being alone with Sam felt like a land mine waiting to go off. 

It hadn’t taken long, what with visions of Trooper Sam arresting him and punishing him for all the bad things he had done, flying through his mind. Dean felt much better, more relaxed as he headed out of the bar, towards his two most beloved things in all the world.    

The zen feeling didn’t last long, however. The hair stood up on the back of his neck, his jaunty walk slowed, upon seeing his dad’s journal and all the research papers Sam had collected, lying abandoned on the back of Baby.  The mist that had gathered around the bar in the late evening hours caused the windows of the Impala to be impervious to view.  He pulled open the driver’s side door, desperately seeking any notion of Sam, hoping he had fallen asleep against his door, as was sometimes his way.

But the items on the back of the car had told him what to expect.  Even at his most tired, Sam wasn’t careless, especially not with their Dad’s journal.  Dean’s heart pounded, knowing with growing certainty that Sam was missing.  But he had to try anyway, asking people coming out of the bar, if they had seen any signs of Sam, calling his brother’s name into the quiet night, with no reply.  He marched up and down the parking lot, searching everywhere for any indication of what might have happened. 

It wasn’t until he saw the traffic cameras over the road next to the bar, that he had any clue as to what to do to find his brother.  He went out into the middle of the highway and stood, looking as far off into the distance as he could, seeing nothing, no one, that might help.  His breath was ragged and he couldn’t remember ever being so scared, or feeling as powerless, as he did at that very moment, all he could think to say was, “Sam.”

Dean drove Baby up and down the roads throughout the county looking for any signs of Sam.  He knew the likelihood of anything coming from the search, was nil but he couldn’t sit idly by, while his brother was who knew where, having who knew what, done to him. 

Along with the sick sense of fear that had been squatting in his stomach the entire night, there was a bucket load of guilt.  If he hadn’t had such filthy desires for his baby brother, if he hadn’t taken the time to jack off in the bathroom, Sam would still be here.  _How could he have been so stupid, so irresponsible, so disgusting._

Finally, after hours of futility, he parked outside the local Sheriff’s Department and waited for the early shift to come on duty.

Dean spoke to the first officer that would give him the time of day.  He tried desperately to get Officer Kathleen to take him seriously, without showing the immense panic that was wreaking havoc with his nervous system at the moment. He tried to remain calm and just state the facts of what happened.  His patience threatened to leave him when she told him to fill out a report and just sit tight, instead of getting to go with her to view the traffic cam footage at the county works department.

He attempted to convey just how serious he was about saving Sam.  He told her he knew of how many missing person’s this county had, and asked her if any of them ever came back.  He watched her face as it tried to remain neutral, but her head falling in dismay was the only answer she gave.

He told her earnestly, “Sam’s my responsibility, and he’s coming back.”  His voice was full of determination when he said definitively, “I’m bringing him back.”

Dean waited impatiently outside on a park bench for Officer Kathleen to return, from across the street, with the findings from the traffic cameras.  Every bone in his body thrummed with the need for action, but he had nowhere to aim it.  He had to work within the system this time until he had the information he needed to find Sam.  His mind was a whirl of horrible images, petrified that any of them could be coming true at that very moment. 

The only clue about what he might be up against, was what the young boy had said when they had interviewed him yesterday.  He described the sound he had heard as a whining growl.  Dean had no idea what that might indicate.  It could be a werewolf, a Wendigo, a monster they had never even heard of before, there were too many possibilities to even begin narrowing down the field, with only that description.  His dad had marked in his journal that this area was a possible hunting grounds for a phantom attacker.  But there was just not enough information to go on yet.

With every second the officer was gone, his panic level increased.  He knew Sam, his brother was amazing in a fight, he could take care of himself against many things, but what if it was a pack.  What if there were too many of them for him to stand against.  Dean’s chest was tight and his stomach ached from the hours of worry. 

Officer Kathleen finally brought out a packet of images from the traffic cam over the area where Sam was taken.  Dean’s frustration grew as he looked through the photos that failed to indicate any clues, until she told him to look at the one taken immediately after Sam left the bar.  It showed an old truck with an ugly, poorly maintained camper on the back.  It was dirty and rust covered but the license plate looked brand new.  It had to indicate suspicious activity. 

Across the park from where they stood an old van’s engine squealed and complained.  The gravelly rattle of the grinding parts caught Dean’s attention and clicked the puzzle pieces together of the photo he was holding and the kid’s description of the monster’s noise.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Sam came to in a cage built from rebar, and thick strips of metal woven together.  He saw a man unconscious in another cage a few feet away.  Sam began trying desperately to escape, hanging his body from the bars and swinging his feet against one of the cage walls, like a battering ram, but all he accomplished was wearing himself out.

Once the man next to him woke up, Sam asked him if he was Alvin Jenkins, the man they had come to try to find.  Alvin confirmed his identity and was angry that Sam’s rescue hadn’t gone better.  Sam informed him that his brother was out there at that moment trying to find them both.  Sam held on to the belief that Dean would find him.  He knew his brother would never stop looking for him. 

Alvin wasn’t a believer but that didn’t faze Sam one bit.  Dean was an excellent hunter, he would find whatever had taken Sam, and it would lead him right to where he was being kept. 

The door to the barn, or whatever this building was, opened noisily.  Sam was surprised, after watching hooded figures come and feed Alvin, seeing them use an electrical system and a key to open the cage door, that it was just people. He had been abducted by humans.  Sam had no clue what they wanted, but he felt slightly better about his odds against them.  He had faced all manner of monsters in his tenure as a hunter, surely he could handle some humans, even killers, if it came to that.

Plus all he really had to do was stay alive long enough for Dean to find him.  His heart swelled at the thought of his brother, out there tearing up the world to get to his side.  Sam had always looked at Dean as his hero growing up, and in spite of how much he wanted Dean to treat him like an equal, in some ways Sam had never stopped seeing his big brother as his savior, his rock, his everything.

After the men left, Sam looked around, seeing a metal hose or tubing of some kind and tried to pull it free to use as some kind of mechanism maybe to break them out.  Just because he knew Dean would never stop looking for him, didn’t mean he was going to sit on his hands and wait.  There was a civilian that had to be saved as well.  Whoever these people were, they might have weapons and Sam had to be ready.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Dean and Officer Kathleen drove out into the county.  The cameras were spread out every 50 miles along the main road.  The suspicious vehicle never appeared in the footage on the next camera past where Sam was abducted.  They were planning to check all the side roads and private drives along that patch of highways to see if they could find him or the truck.

An alert came through on the dash computer informing Kathleen that the badge she had run for the man sitting next to her had been stolen, and the picture was of a black man, who in no way resembled the man she had been trying to help.  She informed Dean of what she had found, pulling the car over, telling him she would have to arrest him and take him in.

In that moment, he cared nothing for his future, for what she might do to him, all he could think was if he didn’t find Sam soon, he might never do so.  He couldn’t allow her to keep him from that.  In that moment, he knew he couldn’t bullshit his way out of this.  The only way Sam might survive is if Dean leveled with the officer. 

He told her he would go with her willingly, would completely cooperate, if she would just let him find Sam first.  She said bitterly, “I don’t even know who you are, or if this Sam person is missing.”

He took all the pain, all the panic that had settled into his soul like a trapped caged animal, and opened himself to her.  Asking her to, “Look into my eyes and tell me if I’m lying about this.”

She laid out all the charges against him, identity theft, impersonating an officer, Dean could tell he was losing her.

Dean felt himself falling apart.  He couldn’t let this happen.  He couldn’t allow his own fuck up to kill Sam.  Every time he thought of what horrible things might be befalling his beloved, ice filled his veins, poured near hysteria into his system.  He had been barely holding it together for the last 24 hours, he didn’t know what to do if she refused to help him. 

He took a breath and told her, “Here’s the thing,” his voice breaking with a stutter, “when we were young, I pretty much pulled him from a fire, and ever since then, I felt responsible for him. You know, like it’s my job to keep him safe.”

His voice dropped an octave to little more than a growled whisper.  “I’m just afraid, if we don’t find him fast…”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought vocally, his eyes shiny with unshed tears, as he begged her, “Please. He’s my family.”

She watched as Dean’s eyes grew large in terror when she answered, “I’m sorry, you’ve given me no choice.”

But as she looked up at the photo of her own brother pinned to the visor hanging just in her view, she couldn’t do it.  She couldn’t allow this man to lose his family the way she had.

Dean watched the woman who held his entire world in her hands, saw her struggle with her own sense of duty and justice, and waited for the guillotine to fall.  Every fiber of his being told him to knock her out and steal her car, do anything to find Sam, but he felt that if he failed, and she somehow got away from him or got back the upper hand, he would cost Sam his life.  So Dean waited.

She told him she had to arrest him, but said it wouldn’t happen until after they found Sam Winchester. 

Dean let out the breath he had been holding.  He couldn’t believe it.  He didn’t care what happened to him after he found Sam, none of that mattered, as long as he found Sam alive.  He had to hold on to the belief his brother was still alive.  Sam had to be.  He couldn’t lose him.  Not like this, not now, not ever.  He kept praying to Sam to just hold on, as the officer pulled the car back onto the highway.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Alvin told Sam to give up on whatever he was attempting. His defeatist attitude infuriated Sam, but not nearly as much as Alvin calling him ‘Sammy’ did.  No one had the right to call Sam that, no one but Dean.  Just thinking about Dean using that name, poured warm soothing strength into Sam.  He took the anger he felt at Alvin, and used it along with all his physical might, to finally succeed at breaking the metal tubing which dropped a hard heavy bracket down into his cell.

At almost the exact same time, the door to Alvin’s cage sprung open. The smart mouthed man took it as a sign that Sam had caused a short circuit or something.  But Sam knew better, he knew this felt like a trap.  He told Alvin so, but he wouldn’t listen.  He left the safety of his cage and told Sam he would go for help.

Sam wasn’t sure what happened to Alvin next, but the scream of intense pain off in the distance didn’t bode well.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

After having searched through the night, Dean and Kathleen stopped for coffee.  On their way back to her cruiser, Dean asked her why she was helping him.  He knew he could be persuasive, but nothing like the magic of Sam’s puppy dog eyes.  Especially in the face of all the charges she had against him, it just didn’t really make sense.  He wasn’t trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it did make him worry about her potentially changing her mind.

She confessed she had lost her brother in a very similar circumstance as to what had happened to Sam.  Explaining that she knew, “What it was like to feel responsible for someone and for them to,” she couldn’t finish the thought, but Dean realized she didn’t want what happened to her, to happen to him.

Dean noticed a turnoff that wasn’t marked and asked Kathleen to pull over.  She did and told him to stay put while she checked it out.  He refused saying she wasn’t going without him.  She tricked him and handcuffed him to her cruiser. 

Dean couldn’t believe he had fallen for that.  He had just noticed the antenna, on the top of the roof, that he thought he might be able to use to pick the lock on the cuffs, when he heard an unmistakable whining growl, of the old pickup they were searching for, coming his way.

He stretched and twisted his body, trying to reach the stupid antenna.  He finally reached it, dropping it in a panic before picking it back up and breaking it off.  He barely managed to pop the lock and dive off into the cover of the woods, before two men came down the road to get into the police car. 

Dean realized the officer must be in trouble, but at least he knew he was in the right place. Fear and hope swirled together in a harsh mixture, causing Dean’s adrenaline to pump into his system as he made his way through the woods to whatever fate was keeping his brother from him.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Kathleen slowly regained consciousness and heard a deep male voice ask from off to her left, “Are you alright?”

She looked at the man who had called out to her and realized it was Sam, the man she had been searching for.  When he confirmed his identity, she told him his cousin was looking for him.

Happiness flooded through Sam’s entire body.  It had been so long, he was beginning to worry that maybe something had happened to Dean too.  His mind had begun to swirl and churn, thinking that maybe these killers had gotten Dean, abducted him at the same time, and had just kept him someplace else, or potentially worse. He had been trying to keep himself from believing the worst, but it had grown harder and harder as the days blended together.

Just as hope had begun to return to Sam, the woman told him she had left his cousin cuffed to her car. Before Sam could process what that even meant, dread poured over him, as he heard the barn door creek.

Dean stepped as gingerly as he could manage into the dark decrepit barn.  His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest as his eyes landed on Sam.  His baby brother was trapped in a cage like an animal, but at least he was alive.  His first thought was to ask if Sam was hurt.  He was so relieved to hear Sam say, “No.”

Sam’s eyes found Dean’s and he couldn’t hide the love and relief he felt staring up at his older brother.  He didn’t even try to conceal all the different emotions flooding through him, and didn’t think he could have if he had tried. 

The concern that had filled Dean’s soul upon first seeing Sam trapped that way, was pushed out by a tsunami of endorphins rushing through every vein in his body, at the sight of Sam’s brilliant white smile.  They stared at each other through the metalwork of the cage, temporarily frozen by all the emotions flooding their bodies.

Who knows what might have passed between them, the intensity crackling through the air was so palpable, if not for Kathleen leaning over and asking “How did you get out of the cuffs?”

Dean had been so blinded by finding his brother that he hadn’t even noticed she was there.  It was good that whoever had taken Sam hadn’t been lying in wait for Dean because they might have actually gotten the jump on him, he was so clearly distracted by finding Sam.

Dean turned towards the officer, with an astonished look on his face.  He was horrified he had almost let his emotions get away from him.  Realizing his mistake, he covered it the only way he knew how, with the bravado that never seemed to fail him, “I know a trick or two.”

Dean immediately jumped into rescue mode, but was stymied by the type of locks controlling the cage doors.  Sam instructed him to look at the control panel, but when he punched the buttons nothing happened. He asked Sam if he had seen his captors and Sam said somewhat in relief, “Dude, they’re just people.” 

Sam felt their odds of getting away safely and stopping the attackers had exponentially increased now that Dean was there.  His brother had taken out a Wendigo single handedly, he knew Dean could handle anything humans threw at him.

Dean teased Sam, trying to make him feel better about the situation by telling him he must be a little rusty if mere humans had gotten the jump on him.  Sam rolled his eyes and huffed, but it was good natured and full of joy to have his brother on the case, even if it meant Dean would bust his chops in the process.

The brothers discussed what was going on, and how difficult it was to assess what the people might want, since unlike their typical adversaries, humans were just crazy, so harder to plan for.  They pretty much left the woman out of the discussion.  Sam didn’t really pay her much mind, in fact, until she asked Dean about one of the cars he had mentioned.  When he told her he had, in fact, seen the car she was asking about, his tone changed. Dean’s voice became softer, more compassionate as he told her he was sorry that he had seen her brother’s car. 

Sam watched the exchange from his cage, saw how Dean’s face showed real emotion for the woman.  It churned Sam’s stomach, knowing that somehow the two of them had shared something together, even though, for some reason she had handcuffed Dean to her car.  He didn’t know what had happened between the two but there was a depth beyond anything two strangers would share.

He hated himself for resenting the woman, and for resenting Dean, for being able to connect with seemingly everyone, in that special way, except Sam.

Dean said the controls took some kind of key, and turned to Sam to see if he knew where it would be.  Sam’s voice was flat, as he answered glumly, “I don’t know.”

Dean turned to leave, saying he had better go find the key.  As hurt and disappointed as Sam was to see the connection between Dean and the other captive, Sam realized Dean could be walking into a boatload of trouble.  He didn’t want anger and sadness to be what he felt as his brother left.  So he swallowed all that down and yelled out to Dean with all the love he could muster, “Be careful.”

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Dean snuck into the nearby house.  He moved through as silently as he could, looking everywhere for a key to free his brother.  The more evidence he found, the more it looked like these people were hunting humans as prey, maybe even eating them if the teeth in a jar, and wind chimes made of bones, were any indication. In many ways, these insane, horrible, people were more monster than half the things Sam and Dean had hunted their entire lives.

He might have had a chance to get in and out unnoticed but a little girl blocked his way.  She called her dad and Dean was attacked by two grubby men.  He managed, in spite of there being multiple opponents, to hold his own, until a third man came up behind him and knocked him out.

He came to, tied firmly to a chair, in a room filled with disgusting looking people.  The oldest of the bunch proceeded to tell him that their family hunted for sport.  He got a red hot poker and pushed it into Dean’s chest where it met his shoulder. 

He asked Dean to make a choice between their two captives in the cages, as to who would get hunted tonight.  Dean knew if they gave Sam a weapon like the man said they always did, he would stand a chance, but he didn’t think Kathleen would. She was a cop, sure, he knew she could fight fair, maybe even holding her own against one of these killers.  But they didn’t strike him as the fair play sort, and it seemed like more than one would be in on the hunt. 

It killed a part of Dean’s soul, but he told them to take the guy, not wanting them to know that Sam was important to him, in case they would get a sick thrill out of torturing Sam first, as some kind of twisted punishment against Dean.

But his hope of Sam’s survival plummeted as he realized he had been double crossed.  The older man instructed one of the younger ones to go out and shoot both of the people right in their cages.  Dean panicked, he didn’t know what to do or how to save Sam, but he had to try. 

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Sam knew something was wrong when it wasn’t Dean who returned to the barn. One of the men, his face visible for the first time, unlocked the door and came at Sam.  Sam threw the metal bracket at the man causing his gun to fire harmlessly at the ceiling.  Sam took advantage of the distraction by lunging, full force, at the man, aiming his shoulder right into the man’s gut.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Dean heard a gun blast somewhere in the direction of the barn.  His panic rose to the level of making his temples pound with his pulse, due to his rising blood pressure.  _Sam couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t._  

Dean began screaming at the people surrounding him, “If you hurt my brother, I’ll kill you, I swear. I’ll kill you all.”

If rage and fear could kill, all the people in the room would already be dead on the ground.  But Dean’s impotent anger did nothing but make his heart pound harder.  His voice sounded animalistic when he yelled, “I will kill you all!”

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Fear of what might have happened to Dean drove Sam into a fury, as he bulldozed his attacker to the ground, pummeling him, first with his fists and then with the man’s own rifle.  Sam tested the gun but it had jammed in the fight.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

The older kidnapper yelled for the one that had gone to the barn, but there was only silence in reply.  He and the other man, armed with rifles, stormed out of the room towards the barn, leaving the little girl to watch Dean.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Kathleen drew one of the men out, causing him to empty his gun into an old cabinet.  She jumped on his back from above while he was distracted.  He used his body-weight to subdue her, knocking her to the ground, but just as he was about to shoot her, Sam ran in, with the other man hot on his tail.  He tricked Kathleen’s attacker into shooting Sam’s assailant, before beating the first man senseless.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Dean was going wild, hearing multiple shots from the barn, having no idea what was happening.  He was being harried by the crazy, vicious, young girl who was threatening to take his eye out with a knife, but gave no real thought to what could happen to himself, only for what might be happening to Sam.

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Sam put both of the men, he had knocked out, into the cage he had occupied, and locked it tight.  Kathleen was holding one of the rifles on the older man. She told Sam to go on and that she would watch him. 

Sam felt extremely uneasy about doing so.  Knowing this man was responsible for her brother’s death, he felt sure she was about to murder him in cold blood.  He couldn’t say he blamed her, but the jealousy that was still coursing through him, made leaving taste bitter on his tongue.  But his body longed to move, to go find Dean, needed to see him alive more than he needed to breathe air.

Sam had very little trouble subduing the rabid girl and freeing his brother.  He made some smart ass quip about it not being a rescue if he had to save his rescuer, but before Dean could give a snarky comeback, the breath was knocked out of him, from his Sasquatch of a brother, grabbing him and hugging him, like his life depended on his arms being around Dean before one more second passed.

Actually his life did depend on it. He needed to feel Dean against him, alive and here. 

Sam bent his neck and rested his forehead on Dean’s shoulder.  

Dean was so shocked by the hug his brain froze temporarily. But then it was as if his own body melted, leaving no room for air between them. He breathed his brother in, smelling days of panic and fear in the old sweat and dirt that clung to his skin. It was the best smell Dean had ever experienced. It mean Sam was alive, and here, and in his arms.

He pressed his nose into Sam's long neck and just took it all in. 

Sam turned and buried his own nose in Dean’s neck, whispering a breathy, “Dean,” against his brother’s skin.

Dean’s body acted on instinct, getting hard from the intimacy and the desperate sound of Sam’s voice. Cold sweat dropped down his spine in apprehension of being discovered.  He cleared his throat and pulled slowly out of the embrace, hating his own body for the betrayal, and for making him have to disconnect from this amazing moment.

"Dude, you stink."  Comedy was always one of Dean’s weapons against chick flick moments. Hopefully Sam would think nothing of it.  

Sam laughed and pulled away, a blush showing clearly on his cheeks.  “Well if you hadn’t been so slow in finding me, maybe I wouldn’t smell so bad.”

“And by the way, you reek of blood and burned skin.”  Sam started the retort out snarky, but then took in his brother’s full visage, his voice turning quiet in concern, “What’d they do to you?  Are you okay?”

Dean threw his arm across Sam’s shoulder, not wanting to be too far from him yet, “Yeah, Sammy, don’t you worry your pretty little head about me, I’m fine.”

Sam’s blush brightened, flaring hot across his entire face and down his neck.  He looked around the room, taking in the horror of the house, anything to try and calm his reaction.

As they got to the stairs, Dean reluctantly pulled his arm away, but squeezed Sam’s shoulder, before letting go completely.

Sam smiled down at him sheepishly, looking younger than his twenty two years.  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Dean looked up into his eyes and said, “I’m glad you’re okay too.”

They followed each other closely, leaving the house side by side.

When they met up with Kathleen as she limped from the barn, they discussed what had happened with the young girl and the dad.  Dean was ready to believe her story, about the father being shot trying to escape, but one look at Sam’s face told Dean there was more to it than she was letting on.

She went to call it in, as the men tried to collect themselves and assess their injuries.

Sam’s jealousy tried to rear its ugly head later, as Kathleen looked primarily at Dean as she informed them the State Police and Feds wanted to interview the brothers.  But he could tell he had misread the situation, when Dean asked her for a ride back, and all she said was “Start walking.”

Sam could barely contain his relief.  It wasn’t at all the response someone would have if Dean had spent private quality time with them.  It let Sam breathe easier.

As the brothers walked side by side down the muddy road, away from the horror show of the house and barn, they couldn’t seem to allow any space between them. Their shoulders and arms kept brushing against each other, but neither wanted to make more room.  Both were still coming to terms that the other was actually alive.

Dean broke the silence when he grumpily growled, “Don’t ever do that again.”

Sam turned his head to look at his brother as he asked in confusion, “Do what?”

Dean’s voice held a deeply serious tone when he stated, “Go missing like that.”

Sam couldn’t help it, his face broke out in a shiny smile.  His heart felt it might explode out of his chest, from the tremendous happiness that one simple instruction created in his soul.  There was teasing laughter in his voice as he said, “You were worried about me.”

Dean tried to deny it, brushing it off, but Sam felt love, relief, and contentment flowing between them, in a way that made him feel he could fly. 

He teased Dean about his being sidelined by a 13 year old girl, throwing Dean’s own words, from earlier, back at him, saying, “You’re getting rusty there, kiddo.”

Sam felt his face might break in half he was smiling so hard. 

Dean had a tough time maintaining eye contact with Sam when he smiled so brilliantly, it stole his breath each time he did.  So he groused and told his kid brother to “Shut up.” 

But it was the last thing Dean really wanted.  He wanted to hear Sam talk, about anything, everything, just to keep having proof that Sam was alive. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the breaking up of the writing with the ***** lines worked for you all. I wanted to include something that would add to the tension, break up the flow, to build the discomfort that was caused by the boys being apart and being so incredibly worried about each other. 
> 
> Hopefully it accomplished that without being too much of a nuisance, or taking away from the work at all.
> 
> This one was stressful to write because I felt pressure to do it justice. It seems like so many people really look to this episode as the epitome of Wincest and the intense emotional connection between the brothers that I just didn't want to fail the canon somehow. 
> 
> I feel so lucky to be doing this series and to have the amazing feedback and support from you all. This year has been stressful for me and I have truly found relief and joy when writing this series so I can't thank you all enough for sticking with me. I can't believe we are not only over the half way mark in the first season but we are quickly rounding the bend towards the end of it. I am as eager and excited to continue as I was in the beginning!
> 
> I still have no plan as to where this will go or how it will turn out. I am doing each and every episode with the idea that the boys will lead me to where they want to go. 
> 
> Thank you all for taking the time to read this!!!


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